Looking at fares from NFM64 (1996) gives an interesting comparison. There are no Standard Open Returns for most of the former Network SouthEast flows, so I've added the cost of two Standard Day Singles together to get the equivalent price in such cases. Figures in brackets are the equivalent in today's prices when adjusted for inflation:
- Northampton : £35.00 (£67.31) £65.00 - 3.4% drop
- Rugby : £42.50 (£81.73) £146.00 - 78.6%
- Bedford : £27.40 (£52.69) £56.20 - 6.7%
- Wellingborough : £31.00 (£59.61) £103.00 - 72.8%
- Kettering : £33.00 (£63.46) £109.00 - 71.8%
- Didcot Parkway : £29.60 (£56.92) £69.40 - 21.9%
- Swindon : £42.00 (£80.77) £142.00 - 75.8%
- Banbury : £27.00 (£51.92) £84.70 - 63.1%
- Leamington Spa (IC) : £47.50 (£91.34) £166.00 - 81.7%
- Leamington Spa (NSE) : £29.00 (£55.77) £116.00 - 108.0%
- Huntingdon : £32.00 (£61.54) £56.80 - 7.7% drop
- Peterborough : £40.00 (£76.92) £118.20 - 53.7%
- Manningtree : £29.20 (£56.15) £71.20 - 26.8%
- Ipswich : £35.00 (£67.31) £84.20 - 25.1%
Indeed. I've added the current equivalent prices, along with the real-terms increases they represent, in bold.
The question of fare disparities isn't just one of historical background and former sector, as the above demonstrates, though the sector in question clearly has a large impact. [Especially so if making a peak-time day trip to London, where cheaper SDRs are available for nearly all of the former NSE flows above.]
In terms of stations where the tickets have improved in value the most, I'd say Bedford, Huntingdon and Northampton have to be pretty high up the list. All now see very respectable service frequencies, both peak and off-peak, with limited-stop services to London.
That said, journey times themselves haven't reduced much, so it's mostly a question of the Generalised Journey Time reducing - i.e. total door-to-door time incorporating the average wait for the next service. Bedford probably clinches it with the Thameslink service that's now on offer, though Huntingdon is a close second.
Rugby, Leamington Spa (IC) and Wellingborough/Kettering have probably done the worst here. The first because it still has just one IC service per hour, so even the WCML revamp hasn't reduced the GJT much: in reality you'd just go for the LNR service, which is much more competitively priced. The second because there's only one non-overtaken itinerary per hour and it involves a tight connection (vs the 2tph direct service via High Wycombe). Obviously it's difficult to price that lower than Coventry without causing an anomaly.
Banbury and Leamington Spa (NSE) have seen revoluntary service improvements, with GJT reducing massively, but peak-time prices have also skyrocketed (I'm surprised at how Chiltern were allowed to raise the price of the BAN SDR, now SOR, so much more than inflation?). So it's hard to say that the current peak prices represent good or bad value for money. LMS (NSE) is overpriced vs splitting at BAN, where all but one service calls, but most of the peak-time customers probably wouldn't consider that option.
Coming back onto the thread topic, WEL/KET get a pretty poor deal (in the current timetable) with journey times much the same as the last 40 years, and both trains per hour bunched up within 10 minutes of another. I suspect that the reason prices rose so massively despite a mediocre service is a mixture of "because they could get away with it", and the ever-increasing traffic from Leicester and northwards having to be served on pint-sized 4 and 5 car Meridians.
I remain to be convinced that replacing their IC services with electric commuter EMUs is going to work unless the fares are commensurately dropped, but we'll see.